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Toppling, Planar Sliding, Wedge Sliding 4-1

Toppling, Planar Sliding, Wedge


Sliding
This tutorial demonstrates how to perform stability analyses (toppling,
planar sliding, wedge sliding) using the Kinematic Analysis option in
Dips.

The tutorial uses the example file Examppit.dips6. The data has been
collected by a geologist working on a single rock face above the first bench
in a young open pit mine.

Current floor
position

Local bench
slopes

Overall pit
slope (45
degrees)

The rock face above the current floor of the existing pit has a dip of 45
degrees and a dip direction of 135 degrees. The current plan is to extend
the pit down at an overall angle of 45 degrees. This will require a
steepening of the local bench slopes, as indicated in the figure above.

The local benches are to be separated by an up-dip distance of 16m. The


bench roadways are 4m wide.

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Examppit.dip File

Navigate to the Examples folder in your Dips installation folder.

Select: File → Recent Folders → Examples Folder

Open the Examppit.dips6 file. Save this example file with a new file
name so that we do not modify the original file.

Select: File → Save As

Enter the file name Kinematic Analysis.dips6 and save the file.

You should see the stereonet plot view shown in the following figure. If
this file has been previously opened and saved, the screen may show a
different view or plot, since Dips saves the most recent view state when a
file is saved. If you do not see the plot below, then use the sidebar plot
options to view pole vectors and contours on the stereonet.

Switch to the grid view of the input data using the tabs at the lower left of
the view.

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The Examppit.dips6 file contains 303 rows, and the following columns:

• The two mandatory Orientation Columns


• A Traverse Column
• 5 Extra Columns (spacing, length, type, shape, surface)

Let’s examine the Project Settings information for this file.

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Project Settings
Select: Analysis → Project Settings

Note the following:

• the Global Orientation Format is DIP/DIPDIRECTION


• The Declination is 7.5 degrees, indicating that 7.5 degrees will be
added to the dip direction of the data, to correct for magnetic
declination
• The Quantity Column is NOT used in this file, so each row of the
file represents an individual measurement.

Traverses
Let’s inspect the Traverse Information. You can select the Traverses
button in the Project Settings dialog (the Traverses dialog is also
available directly in the Analysis menu).

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As you can see in the Traverse Information dialog, this file uses only a
single traverse:

• The Traverse is a PLANAR traverse, with a Dip of 45 degrees and


a Dip Direction of 135 degrees (i.e. the face above the survey
bench, as you can read in the Traverse Comment).

• Note that the Traverse Orientation Format is the same as the


Global Orientation Format (DIP/DIPDIRECTION), as we would
expect for a file with only a single traverse defined.

Select Cancel in the Traverse Information dialog.

Select Cancel in the Project Settings dialog.

Switch back to the stereonet plot view. Before we proceed with the
kinematic analysis, we will add the slope plane to the view, create a
symbolic plot, define sets for the main data clusters and estimate the
friction angle from the joint surface condition.

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Add Plane

Let’s add the slope plane to the stereonet.

Select: Planes → Add Plane

Click the mouse anywhere in the stereonet. In the Add Plane dialog enter
the coordinates 45 / 135 (dip/dipdirection) and the label Pit Slope. Note: if
the Orientation input format is not Dip / Dip Direction, click on the
button at the right of the orientation input boxes and change the
convention to Dip/DipDirection.

Select OK. You should see the pit slope plane as shown below.

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Symbolic Pole Plot

Feature attribute analysis can be carried out on a Pole Plot with the
Symbolic Plot option. Let’s create a Symbolic Pole Plot based on the
discontinuity type (i.e. the data in the TYPE column).

In the sidebar plot options, select Pole Vector Display > Symbolic and
select the small button which appears at the right.

You will see the Symbolic Plot dialog. Change the Data Type = TYPE. The
data in the TYPE column is Qualitative which is the default selection, so
just select OK to generate the Symbolic Plot.

Look closely at the data clustering and the data TYPE. Most of the
features are joints as indicated in the legend. Note the clustering of
bedding features and the two clusters of shear features. These may
behave very differently from similarly oriented joints or extension
fractures, and should be considered separately.

Although the Shears are not numerous enough to be represented in the


contours (the number of mapped shears is small), they may have a
dominating influence on stability due to low friction angles and inherent
persistence. It is always important to look beyond mere orientations and
densities when analyzing structural data.

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Observe the clustering of


joint, bedding and shear
features on a Symbolic Pole
Plot.

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Contour Plot

Let’s examine the data contours. A useful rule of thumb is that any
cluster with a maximum concentration of greater than 6% is very
significant. 4-6% represents a marginally significant cluster. Less than
4% should be regarded with suspicion unless the overall quantity of data
is very high (several hundreds of poles). Rock mechanics texts give more
rigorous rules for statistical analysis of data.

Now apply the Terzaghi Weighting to the data, to account for bias
correction due to data collection on the (planar) traverse. Select the
Terzaghi Weighting checkbox in the sidebar plot options.

Observe the change in adjusted concentration for the set nearly parallel
to the mapping face (the “bedding plane” joint set).

Observe the effect of bias


correction on the bedding
plane joint set in particular.

Terzaghi Weighting applied to data contours

See the Dips Help system for more information about the Terzaghi
Weighting procedure used in Dips.

To restore the original unweighted plot turn off the Terzaghi Weighting
checkbox in the sidebar plot options.

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Creating Sets

Let’s use the Sets from Cluster Analysis option to delineate the joint
contours and create four Sets from the four major data concentrations on
the stereonet.

Select: Sets → Sets from Cluster Analysis

(Note: see Tutorial 03 for instructions on how to create Sets. Also see the
Dips Help system for detailed information.)

1. In the Sets from Cluster Analysis dialog, enter 25 degrees as the


maximum cone angle.

2. Press the Select button, and use the mouse to click on the
approximate center of the four main data clusters on the
stereonet.

3. Right-click and select Done. You should see the Set Windows
shown below.

Turn off the display of the mean joint set planes and the pit slope by
clearing the Planes > Major Planes checkbox in the sidebar plot options.

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Estimating Friction Angle

For stability analysis it will be necessary to assume a value for friction


angle on the joint surfaces.

For the purpose of estimating a friction angle, we will create a Chart of


the data in the SURFACE column of the Examppit.dip file.

Select: Analysis → Chart

In the Chart dialog, select Data to Plot = SURFACE. Select OK, and the
Chart will be created.

From the chart, the surfaces are about 50 percent rough (considering both
“rough” and “v.rough” features) and 50 percent smooth, so we will assume
an average friction angle of 30 degrees for all features. Note: this process
can be refined by using the Set Filter (in the Chart dialog) and examining
the joint roughness of individual sets. This is left as an optional exercise.
Close the Chart view and we will return to the stereonet.

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Planar Sliding

We will now proceed with the analysis of 3 potential failure modes of


interest – planar sliding, wedge sliding and toppling. Select the
Kinematic Analysis option from the Analysis menu.

Select: Analysis → Kinematic Analysis

In the Kinematic Analysis dialog:

1. Select the Display Kinematic Analysis checkbox.


2. Select the Planar Sliding Failure Mode.
3. Turn off the Use Lateral Limits checkbox.
4. Enter the Slope Dip = 45 and Dip Direction = 135.
5. Enter Friction Angle = 30 degrees.
6. Select OK.

You should see the kinematic analysis overlay for planar sliding as shown
below. The key elements of planar sliding using pole vectors are:

1. Slope plane and daylight envelope

2. Pole friction cone (angle measured from center of


stereonet)

3. Lateral limits (optional)

These are discussed below. Note: the text labels in the figure were
manually added using the Add Text option in the Tools menu.

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Slope Plane
The great circle of the slope plane is displayed and labeled Pit Slope on
the above figure with orientation 45/135 Dip/DipDirection. Note: the slope
plane is automatically displayed by the kinematic analysis. The slope
plane that we added earlier using the Add Plane option is now hidden.

Daylight Envelope
The Daylight Envelope corresponding to the slope plane is required for a
planar sliding kinematic analysis as shown in the above figure. A
Daylight Envelope allows us to test for kinematics (i.e. a rock slab must
have somewhere to slide into – free space). Any pole falling within this
envelope is kinematically free to slide if frictionally unstable.

Friction Cone
A pole friction cone of 30 degrees is displayed. Any pole falling outside of
this cone represents a plane which could slide if kinematically possible.

NOTE: when considering pole vectors, the friction cone angle is measured
from the CENTER of the stereonet.

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Critical Zone for Planar Sliding


The crescent shaped zone formed by the Daylight Envelope and the pole
friction circle encloses the region of planar sliding. Any poles in this
region represent planes which can and will slide, i.e., the critical zone for
planar failure is defined by poles which are:

• OUTSIDE of the pole friction circle and

• INSIDE the daylight envelope

This region is automatically highlighted for planar sliding analysis as


shown in the above figure. The highlight colour and other display options
can be customized in the Kinematic Analysis dialog.

Legend
A summary of the planar sliding kinematic analysis results is displayed
in the Legend.

In this case only a single pole is contained within the critical planar
sliding zone. The Legend provides results as a percentage of all poles in
the file (1/303), and as a percentage of poles for individual sets (1/26 for
Set number 1).

In either case, you can see that the probability of planar sliding is very
low for this combination of slope orientation and friction angle.

Lateral Limits
The planar sliding analysis described above considers the entire daylight
envelope as a kinematically valid sliding zone.

In practice it has been observed that planar sliding (and toppling) tends
to occur when the dip direction of planes is within a certain angular range
of the slope dip direction. Typically a range of plus/minus 20 or 30 degrees
is considered, and poles outside of this range represent a low risk.

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To add lateral limits to the kinematic analysis, return to the Kinematic


Analysis dialog and turn on the Use Lateral Limits checkbox. Or
alternatively, select the Planar Sliding option from the sidebar (instead
of Planar Sliding (No Limits)).

Since the stereonet is getting a bit cluttered, turn off the display of Set
Windows (select Object Visibility > Sets from the sidebar plot options and
turn off the checkbox). You should see the following.

The lateral limits are simply two straight lines which define an angular
range measured from the dip direction of the slope. In this case we have
used the default value of plus/minus 20 degrees.

For this example, the addition of lateral limits does not change the
results, since only a single pole is in the critical planar sliding zone.
However this depends on your file, and the inclusion of lateral limits
could significantly change results if there are many poles inside the
daylight envelope.

Planar Sliding Release Planes


An important assumption regarding “pure” planar sliding is that release
planes are assumed to exist (e.g. lateral joints, tension cracks or other
mechanism) which allow a planar sliding failure to occur.

Such release planes are not explicitly modeled in the planar sliding
kinematic analysis but you should be aware that some release mechanism
must exist to allow a block sliding on one plane to be removed from the
slope. Planar sliding can be considered a special case of wedge sliding
where sliding takes place on only one plane, and other planes act as
release planes.

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Flexural Toppling

Now let’s examine the Flexural Toppling failure mode.

1. Select the Flexural Toppling kinematic analysis option in the


sidebar or the Kinematic Analysis dialog.

2. Enter Lateral Limits = 30 degrees.

Also do the following:

1. If you added any text or arrows, delete them.

2. Re-display the Set Windows (select Object Visibility > Sets in the
sidebar plot options).

3. Remove the Terzaghi weighting (clear the Terzaghi weighting


checkbox in the sidebar plot options). This will highlight the data
contours for Set 4.

You should see the kinematic analysis overlay for flexural toppling as
shown below.

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The key elements of flexural toppling analysis using pole vectors are:

1. Slope plane

2. Slip limit plane (based on slope angle and friction angle)

3. Lateral limits

These are discussed below. Any poles that plot within the critical zone for
flexural toppling represent a toppling risk. This analysis is based on the
flexural toppling analysis described by Goodman (Ref.1).

Slope Plane
The great circle of the slope plane is displayed, and labeled Pit Slope with
orientation 45/135 Dip/DipDirection.

Slip Limit
Planes cannot topple if they cannot slide with respect to one another.
Goodman (Ref. 1) states that for slip to occur, the bedding normal must be
inclined less steeply than a line inclined at an angle equivalent to the
friction angle above the slope.

This results in a “slip limit” plane which defines the critical zone for
flexural toppling. The Dip angle of the slip limit plane is derived from the
PIT SLOPE ANGLE – FRICTION ANGLE = 45 – 30 = 15 degrees. The
DIP DIRECTION of the slip limit plane is equal to that of the face (135
degrees).

Lateral Limits
The Lateral Limits for flexural toppling have the same purpose as
described for planar sliding. They define the lateral extents of the critical
zone with respect to the dip direction of the slope. For this example we
have increased the limits from 20 degrees (used in the planar sliding
example) to 30 degrees as suggested by Goodman.

Critical Zone for Flexural Toppling


The critical zone for flexural toppling is the highlighted region between
the slip limit plane, stereonet perimeter and the lateral limits. Any poles
in this region represent a risk of flexural toppling. Remember that a near
horizontal pole represents a near vertical plane.

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Legend
A summary of the flexural toppling results is displayed in the Legend.

In this case there is a significant risk of flexural toppling. The Legend


provides results as a percentage of all poles in the file (26/303), and as a
percentage of poles for individual sets (25/90 for Set number 4). For set
number 4 the toppling probability is nearly 30 percent.

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Wedge Sliding

From the Planar Sliding kinematic analysis, it has been shown that a
sliding failure along any single joint plane is unlikely. However, multiple
joints can form wedges which can slide along the line of intersection
between two planes.

Select the Wedge Sliding kinematic analysis option in the sidebar or the
Kinematic Analysis dialog.

Also do the following:

1. If you added any text or arrows, delete them.

2. Turn off the display of Set Windows (select Object Visibility >
Sets in the sidebar plot options).

3. Turn off the display of pole vectors (select the Pole Vector Display
checkbox in the sidebar).

4. Turn on the display of Intersection Contours (select Contours >


Intersection in the sidebar).

You should see the kinematic analysis overlay for wedge sliding as shown
below. The key elements of wedge sliding analysis are:

1. Slope Plane

2. Plane friction cone (angle measured from perimeter of


stereonet)

3. Intersection plotting

The primary critical zone for wedge sliding is the crescent shaped area
INSIDE the plane friction cone and OUTSIDE the slope plane. Any
intersection points that plot within this zone represent wedges which are
able to slide.

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Intersections
The points that you see plotted for the wedge sliding analysis are
intersection points. Each point represents the intersection of two joint
planes. By default, all planes in the file are considered (i.e. each plane in
the file is intersected with every other plane in the file, to determine the
intersection points). The intersection points represent the actual
trend/plunge of the line of intersection of two joint planes. By default only
the critical intersections are displayed.

There are several options available for the display of intersections:

• All planes in the file can be intersected with each other (Grid
Data Planes option)

• Intersection contours can be displayed (based on the intersection


of all planes) as shown below.

• Major plane intersections can be plotted (i.e. mean set planes


and/or user-defined planes).

Intersection Contours
An immediate indication that wedge sliding is not an issue for this slope
orientation, are the intersection contours. You can see that the main
concentrations of intersections are all well outside the critical zone for
wedge sliding.

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Slope Plane
The pit slope plane defines the daylighting condition for intersections.
Any intersection point which plots outside the pit slope great circle
satisifies the daylighting condition.

Friction Cone
For wedge sliding, it is important to remember that the friction cone (30
degrees) is measured from the EQUATOR of the stereonet, and NOT
FROM THE CENTER, because we are dealing with an actual sliding
surface or line. (When we are dealing with poles the friction cone is
measured from the center of the stereonet).

Critical Zone for Wedge Sliding


The primary critical zone for wedge sliding is the crescent shaped area
INSIDE the plane friction cone and OUTSIDE the slope plane
(highlighted in red in the above figure). Intersections which plot in this
zone represent wedges which satisfy frictional and kinematic conditions
for sliding.

However wedges do not necessarily slide along the line of intersection of


two joint planes. Wedges can slide on a single joint plane, if one plane has
a more favourable direction for sliding than the line of intersection. In
this case, the second joint plane acts as a release plane rather than a
sliding plane. This can occur in either the primary or the secondary
critical region.

The secondary critical zone (highlighted in yellow in the above figure) is


the area between the slope plane and a plane (great circle) inclined at the
friction angle. Critical intersections which plot in these zones always
represent wedges which slide on one joint plane. In this region, the
intersections are actually inclined at LESS THAN the friction angle, but
sliding can take place on a single joint plane which has a dip vector
greater than the friction angle.

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Legend
A summary of the wedge sliding results is displayed in the Legend.

For this example, the percentage of critical intersections compared to the


total number is actually very low (about 2 percent) so wedge sliding is not
a great concern for this slope orientation.

To view all intersections, select the Show All Intersections checkbox in


the Kinematic Analysis options in the sidebar. This will give you a better
feel for the relatively small number of critical intersections compared to
the total number, as shown in the above figure.

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Mean Set Plane Intersections


Let’s demonstrate one more possibility for assessing the risk of wedge
sliding. We will view the intersections of the mean planes (from the four
sets we created earlier in this tutorial).

1. In the sidebar plot options, select Intersections > Mean Set Planes

2. Display the mean set planes (select Planes > Major Planes >
Mean Set Planes).

The plot should look as follows.

Notice that the four mean set planes intersect each other to form six
intersection points. Notice that these intersections correspond with the
maximum concentrations of the intersection contours, as we would
expect.

Since none of the mean set plane intersections are within the critical
wedge sliding zone, again we can conclude that wedge sliding is not an
issue for this slope orientation. Note that the Legend indicates zero
critical intersections out of a total of 6 mean set plane intersections.

Toggle the Terzaghi weighting checkbox to see the effect of applying bias
correction to the mean set planes. The effect in this case is small.

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Discrete Structures
Finally, for wedge sliding you should analyze the shear zones mentioned
earlier. If these shears occur in proximity to one another they may
interact to create local instability.

Perform an analysis similar to the one above using discrete combinations


of shear planes.

• Use the Add Plane option to add planes corresponding to the


shear features.

• TIP: while using Add Plane, the Pole Snap option (available in the
right-click menu) can be used to snap to the exact orientations of
the shear poles.

Determine whether the shears will interact with any of the mean joint set
orientations to create an unstable wedge. Using the procedure described
above, the stability of discrete combinations of shear planes, or of shear
planes with the mean joint orientations, may be analyzed. In the sidebar
plot options, select Intersections > User Planes (or Intersections > User
and Mean Set Planes).

You should find that the risk of wedge failure along the shear planes is
low, for this pit slope configuration.

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Direct Toppling

There is one more kinematic analysis failure mode that we have not yet
discussed – Direct Toppling.

Direct Toppling involves a different set of assumptions in comparison to


Flexural Toppling. The two primary features of Direct Toppling are:

• Two joint sets intersect to form intersection lines dipping into the
slope which can form discrete blocks.

• A third joint set of near horizontal planes act as release planes (or
sliding planes) for the discrete blocks.

Direct Toppling analysis is somewhat more complicated than the other


analysis modes and is based on the method described in Hudson and
Harrison (Ref. 2). This is left as an optional exercise to experiment with,
for more information see the Dips help system.

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Info Viewer

Although the Legend displays a summary of kinematic analysis results


for the currently selected method, the Info Viewer provides a detailed
summary of kinematic results for ALL failure modes.

As soon as kinematic analysis is enabled, Dips automatically carries out


the analysis behind the scenes, for all failure modes, for the current input
parameters (slope orientation, friction angle, lateral limits) and this
information is available at all times in the Info Viewer. This is useful for
carrying out sensitivity analysis as discussed below.

Select: Analysis → Info Viewer

Go to the Info Viewer to see the format of the kinematic analysis results.
For further details see the Dips help system.

Sensitivity Analysis

The Kinematic Analysis option in Dips makes it easy to perform


sensitivity analysis, by varying the main input parameters (slope angle,
slope dip direction, friction angle) and plotting the results for each failure
mode. As noted above, results for all failure modes are always available in
the Info Viewer.

Increased Local Pit Slope


Repeat these analyses for steeper local slopes. If the overall slope is to be
maintained at 45 degrees (see the first page of this tutorial), the local
bench slope will have to be increased to accommodate the roadways.
What is the critical local slope?

Other Pit Orientations


Assume that the joint sets are consistent throughout the mine property.
Examine the stability of other Are there any slope orientations that are more unstable than others?
pit slope orientations. Examine slope dip directions in 45 degree increments around the pit wall.
Assume that the joint sets are
consistent throughout the HINT:
mine property, and perform
the analyses described in this • You can import Dips plots into AutoCAD using the Copy Metafile
option in the Edit menu. This will copy a metafile of the current
tutorial using 45 degree
increments of dip direction
around the pit wall. view to the clipboard, which can then be pasted into AutoCAD.

• Pole or Contour plots showing mean planes and the selected pit
slope orientation can be imported into a plan of the pit and placed
in their appropriate orientations for quick reference.

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Summary

Kinematic analysis of rock slope failure modes using stereonets is an


extremely useful and easy to understand analysis tool which allows you
to quickly evaluate potential failure modes. However keep in mind the
following.

• The analyses presented here are just a starting point for more
detailed analysis and should always be accompanied by a more
thorough field analysis in cases where a risk of failure is
indicated.

• Real slopes may exhibit more than one failure mode. It is rare to
see pure examples of these failure modes, particularly with the
toppling analysis, which may exhibit complex behaviours
involving sliding, toppling, rotating etc.

• Even if a kinematic analysis indicates risk of failure, this does not


necessarily mean that failure will occur, since factors other than
kinematics and friction angle may work to increase stability (e.g.
joint cohesion, joint persistence etc).

• It is important to look beyond statistical results (e.g. mean set


plane orientations) and consider major discrete structures such as
shear zones which may have a dominant effect on stability due to
low friction angles and inherent persistence.

• More detailed analysis including safety factor calculation can be


carried out with the Rocscience programs Swedge (wedge
analysis) and RocPlane (planar analysis).

References

1. Goodman, R.E. 1980. Introduction to Rock Mechanics (Chapter 8),


Toronto: John Wiley, pp 254-287.

2. Hudson, J.A. and Harrison, J.P. 1997. Engineering Rock


Mechanics – An Introduction to the Principles, Pergamon Press.

Dips v.6.0 Tutorial Manual

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